Immutable Laws
by walutahanga
Summary: Set during 'Snip it, Snip it good.' Tori faces the darker side of being a ranger.


Immutable Laws

**Disclaimer: **Power rangers is not mine.

**Note: **This is set during _'Snip it, Snip it Good.'_ This story's been floating around my head for ages, so I decide to put it down on paper and end my misery. This is a one shot look through Tori's eyes, but there is some character development for Kapri and Marah too (mostly Kapri).

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Whatever Tori had been expecting as a ranger, this wasn't it.

Sitting in her bedroom, giving two evil space ninjas advice about which of her clothes looked best on them in exchange for a jade turtle. All in all, this was pretty surreal.

And yet somehow she found herself saying;

"Not the green shirt. The pink one looks better."

Kapri beamed.

"I thought so, too! And look! It looks _so_ much better on me than it does on you."

She twirled in front of the mirror, eyeing herself from the back.

"Anything looks better than the blue ranger," Marah sniffed. She was sorting through a pile of blue shirts on Tori's bed.

"Hello!" Tori said, annoyed. "I'm standing right here."

_Great. Ten minutes with them, and I'm already talking like a valley girl…_

Marah looked baffled.

"So?"

Tori sighed and surreptitiously touched her neck. There was a nasty bruise forming, and it hurt like hell. Marah and Kapri might not be rangers, but they could inflict their share of damage – whatever their air-headed personas might suggest to the contrary.

The blue ranger wondered if she shouldn't go the to the bathroom and see how bad the bruising was. It was swelling up pretty quickly. However, she didn't feel comfortable leaving the two ninjas alone in her room. She didn't trust them not to take off with the jade turtle _and_ all her clothes. Compromise was all very well, but she wasn't about to take foolish risks.

Luckily, the two girls had no qualms about changing in front of Tori. In fact, _she_ was probably more uncomfortable with it than they were. They had a complete lack of modesty that could only come from a totallyalien culture.

Marah held up a blouse.

"Hey, this one's cute!"

With no further ado, she began pulling her t-shirt over her head.

Tori looked away, staring fixedly at the lamp on her desk. This was going to be oneseriously wierd story to tell the others.

Although, on second thoughts, maybe not. Three nubile, teenage girls getting undressed in a bedroom, two of which had a liking for leather and spandex….

Nope. No way in hell was this getting back to Dustin or Shane. She knew _exactly_ what they'd say.

"Marah – look at your ribs."

The horrified tone in Kapri's voice made Tori look up. She saw Marah and winced. Purple bruising ran up and down her sides and back, mottling the fair skin. It made the bruise on her neck look like nothing.

"Where did you get those from?" She asked without thinking.

"Fighting, duh." Marah said. "You rangers hit hard."

Something sour twisted in Tori's stomach.

"Is that all from today?" She asked.

"No, from all the other battles she fought this week," Kapri said sarcastically. "Yes, today!"

"But I wasn't even hitting that hard!" Tori protested. She hadn't been out for blood. She'd just wanted them to get out of her way.

Marah shrugged.

"Yeah, but like in ranger form, you're a bazillion times stronger than us." A blindingly empty-headed smile lit up her pretty face. "I guess it's sort of like being drunk! You don't realize how drunk – or how strong you are – until later."

Tori tried to shut out the truly terrifying mental image of an intoxicated Marah, and focused on the rest of the speech. It was surprisingly insightful – and unsettling.

To equate a ranger with being drunk on power was disturbing, but thinking about it, Tori couldn't quite deny it. There was a rush that came from being a ranger. A certain aggression. Yes, it was balanced against an innate need to protect and serve, but violence was an undeniable part of being a ranger.

Usually, it was channelled against monsters, but now, seeing the results of her handiwork patterned over a young girl's body…

"I'm sorry."

Marah looked at Tori oddly.

"We're like, on opposite sides," she said. "That's what happens."

Kapri smirked.

"Give me half a chance, and I'll do worse to you."

Suddenly Tori remembered that these were dark ninjas, and that she was all alone in her room with them. There was a sudden tension in the air that wasn't there before.

Tori and Kapri gazed steadily at one another.

_Try me, brat. _

Marah shifted awkwardly, and Tori's worried gaze went back to her.

"You know, maybe you should see a doctor or something…" she said.

"She doesn't need a doctor!" Kapri snapped.

"But she might have broken ribs or internal bleeding or something…"

The dark ninja made an aggravated sound and turned to her sister.

"Lean forward. We might as well do it here. She'll never shut up, otherwise."

Marah obeyed, hunching over so that her brown tresses of hair swept forward over her knees and left her neck and shoulders bare. Her arms and legs were curled up, her arms locked about her ankles.

Kapri reached out and traced a bruise with a gentle fingertip. Her touch was gentle, belying her snarky words.

"What are you doing?" Tori demanded, her voice sharp with concern.

Kapri set her palms against Marah's shoulders and closed her eyes.

"Shut up, blue ranger. I need to concentrate."

"Don't tell me to – "

Tori cut off as Kapri ran the flat of one hand down her sister's back. It was a curious motion, as if she was trying to smooth wrinkles out of cloth. Her fingers were glowing with a faint pink light. It was kind of like when Tori summoned water, or the ninjas any of their elements. Their signature colours marked their use of the Power.

As Tori watched, Marah's bruises vanished under Kapri glowing hands. The skin became smooth and unmarked.

The glow faded from Kapri's hands. She let them drop, and stepped back. She looked a little paler than before, and sweat was beading on her upper lip.

"There," she said somewhat shakily. "All done."

Marah stood, rolling her shoulders.

"Thanks, Kapri. That feels so much better!" Marah grabbed her sister in a hug. "You're the best big sis in the world!"

Kapri extricated herself from the embrace.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Just remember this next time I want to watch _Home and Away_, and _Passions_ is on."

"Sure thing, sis!"

With another worshipping look, Marah began to pull her clothes on – well, Tori's clothes actually, but they were making a trade, after all.

Tori touched the bruise on her neck. It was still very tender, but it would vanish after a couple of hours – ranger healing was truly amazing. But she'd never seen injuries heal so fast as Marah's had, bruising sinking back under the skin in a matter of moments. Not even Sensei, who was skilled in changing his shape, could heal like that.

"How did you do that?" She asked.

"I'm a pink ninja," Kapri said, as if it should be obvious. "We're the body, healing, you know…?"

At Tori's blank look, she rolled her eyes.

"You earthlings are _sooo_ ignorant."

"Hey!" Tori tried to defend herself. "We never had any pink ninjas at the academy."

"Not my fault if you don't pay attention to what goes on on your very doorstep. There was a pink ranger just last year…" Kapritrailed offas she spotted something far more interesting. "Hey, cool hat!"

She picked up a hat from the floor and tried it on, admiring her reflection in the mirror.

Usually Tori would protest – it was her favourite hat – but something had just occurred to her. She glanced over at Marah who had just rejected yet another t-shirt, and was sorting through the pile again.

"Marah's not pink," she said.

"Duh." Kapri threw the word over her shoulder, more pre-occupied with getting the hat to sit just right over one eye. "She's like, orange or something."

"So she can't heal," Tori said. "You heal her – but who heals you?"

Kapri stilled. She glanced over her shoulder, with a guarded look. Finally, giving a put upon sigh she turned to face the ranger. She lifted up her shirt to bare her flat stomach.

Tori blanched.

Purple and yellow bruises mottled the girl's skin. Some were old. Some looked quite new, as if from today.

"One of the guiding principle of being a pink ninja is that we can heal others, but we can't heal ourselves. It's one of the immutable laws of the universe."

Kapri's tone was matter-of-fact. She let her shirt fall back into place.

"I am sorry," Tori said. The words felt inadequate.

"Don't be." Kapri's voice was uncharacteristically flat and hostile. "Because come next battle, when we're up against you, you're going to do exactly the same thing. It's your world at stake. Your families, your friends, your homes. You're going to do what you have to to defend them."

"Then why – "

"Hey," Kapri gave a flip smile that didn't quite hide the broken edge beneath it. "We had a home once too, you know."

Tori was silent for a moment. She watched Kapri preen in front of the mirror, and Marah smoothing out her selected shirt. She wondered how much of the front they presented to the world was real, and how much was an act.

"You know, you guys," She said. "If you ever wanted to – "

Kapri snorted.

"Defect?" She said, wrinkling her nose. Her serious demeaner of a few moments ago dissolved, and suddenly she was giggling like afive year oldwho'd just heard the word 'bottom'. A moment later, Marah was also giggling.

Kapri finally sobered. She tilted her head at the blue ranger.

"Hey, it's been cool hanging out with you and stuff," she said. She sounded as if she meant it too – as if she was actually trying to be nice. "But, you know, Uncle Lothor's family. And you don't defect from family."

"Yeah," Marah agreed. "That leads to blood and tears, and…blood…and more blood…"

Tori sighed and nodded.

"Well, if you ever need any more clothes," she said. "And have any nifty things to trade…"

"We'll know where to come!" Marah said brightly, and hugged her. It startled Tori, but after ensuring it wasn't an attack of some kind, she decided not to stop her. Marah did seem to be the physically affectionate kind. – although after the girl stepped back, she _did_ do a quick check to make sure nothing had been swiped.

Kapri didn't hug her. She reached out and brushed something from the blue ranger's cheek. Tori could have sworn there was a brief pink pulse of light, and warmth prickled through her skin.

"Eyelash," Kapri explained, flicking something away. She smirked. "Seeya round, blue ranger."

In a flash of light, both sisters disappeared. Tori was left standing alone in the room, the jade turtle on her bed.

But when she raised her hand to her neck, the bruise was gone.


End file.
